Irish golfers prepare for South American Amateur

​Strong contingent of amateur golfers from Great Britain and Ireland travel to Argentina in January.

05 January 2017

Caption: Paula Grant (Lisburn) - Photo Courtesy of Ronan Lang

The 2017 South American Amateur Championships takes place at Martindale in Buenos Aires.

30 competitors from Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Finland, Portugal and New Zealand supported by The R&A.

A strong contingent of amateur golfers from Great Britain and Ireland will travel to Argentina to compete in the South American Amateur Championships in the new year.

The 2017 golf event gets underway in January at Martindale in Buenos Aires with 30 players from across the world taking part with the support of The R&A, including 16 golfers from the home nations as well as competitors from Canada, Finland, Portugal and New Zealand.

First played in 2006, the South American Amateur Championships are open to men and women and were won last year by Juan Alvarez of Uruguay and Sofia Garcia from Paraguay – who lifted the golf title for the second year running in Lima, Peru in 2016.

India Clyburn is the highest ranked player in the World Amateur Golf RankingTM from England competing in the championships. Hailing from the home of England Golf, Woodhall Spa, Clyburn, who plays her collegiate golf in the US, will target a top performance in Buenos Aires.

Joshua Davies, who played for Wales in the Eisenhower Trophy in Mexico in September, is also competing alongside fellow Welsh players and R&A Foundation Scholars Megan Lockett and Bethan Morris.

Former professional and reinstated amateur Barry Hume returns to the event having played in 2016. Hume played in The Open at Royal Troon in 2004 and at Royal Birkdale in 2008. He will be joined by his fellow reinstated Scot, Euan Mcintosh, who capped his impressive comeback year by winning the Scottish Golf Order of Merit. He is currently ranked 87 in the World Amateur Golf RankingTM.

Former professional and reinstated amateur Barry Hume returns to the event having played in 2016.

R&A support for amateur golfers

Duncan Weir, Executive Director – Working for Golf, will travel to the event in January with Charles Harrison, Chairman of the Golf Development Committee, and Mark Lawrie, Director – Latin America and the Caribbean.

“We have supported the South American Amateur Championships since their inception eleven years ago and have been impressed with their growing stature in the game,” said Weir.

“They provide an excellent opportunity for leading men and women from all over the world to compete at this level and we are looking forward to being in Argentina to offer our support.”

The 2017 South American Amateur Championships take place from January 19 – 22. For more information visit www.saamateur.org.